Javier Bardem as James Bond?

Javier Bardem is earning raves for his turn as a yellow-haired ambisexual baddie in Skyfall. But according to a new interview over at CinemaBlend, Bardem almost wound up playing a very different role in the James Bond franchise: James Bond. When asked if he was offered the part of Bond, Bardem nonchalantly says, “Years ago, I was. I don’t remember what movie it was for. But yeah, it was not that time.” Considering that the British super-agent has classically been played by actors who are, well, not Spanish, this news might come as a surprise. However, a source tells EW that Bardem was misquoted (or perhaps misunderstood the question.) He was not offered the role of Bond; he was, however, offered a role in a Bond film.

No more information is available about the offer. But given that Bardem rose to prominence in 2000 with his turn in Before Night Falls, it seems likely that it the role was for one of the post-2000 Bond movies. And given that the first two Daniel Craig James Bonds both featured attractively tortured Euro bad guys, it doesn’t take a huge leap of deductive reasoning to imagine that Bardem was either offered the role of Le Chiffre in Casino Royale or the role of That French Guy in Quantum of Solace. Unless he was in line to play Mathis, Bond’s French ally, ultimately played in both films by Giancarlo Giannini?